Blog Tour: The Good Man

Jack Marshall had served with Walker during the war, and now they work for The Company in postwar Vienna. With the help of Leslie, an analyst who worked undercover gathering intelligence from Hitler’s inner circle, they are tasked to do the inconceivable: recruit former Nazis with knowledge that can help the U.S. in the atomic race. But someone else is looking for these men. And when he finds them, he does not leave them alive.

In this tale of historical noir, of corruption and deceit, no one is who they say they are. Who is The Good Man in a world where an enemy may be a friend, an ally the enemy, and governments deny everything?

 The Author:

 ... about whom I have very little information! A mystery man, perhaps, like the characters in his book.

My review: 
 
Raymond Chandler rewrites John le Carre in this spy thriller in post-war Vienna. An American unit is trying to identify, protect, and ultimately use, Nazi survivors who might have valuable information on Russia. It hits the ground running, and though it lacks the wit of Chandler and the atmosphere of le Carre it keeps the pace nicely.  What did I dislike? Occasionally the writing is a little too pretentious or over-detailed, and sometimes there is a muddle where it’s not quite clear whose pronouns are what, not helped by a bit of skipping about of the point of view.  Some of his key indicators of a British person are not accurate for the period (or even for now).  But the plot holds together and skips along, there’s plenty of room for the sequel (already available) to develop, and the historical note at the end is both interesting and useful.